Simply Beauty
Is your beauty routine in need of a jump-start? Don’t let the everyday beauty of your skincare regimen become ho-hum. By implementing just a few changes to an already great routine, you can take those basic beauty steps to the next level!
No matter who gave you those first beauty tips and routines—your mother, older sister, closest friend or even magazine article—chances are, that beauty routine has stayed the same for too long. It’s inevitable! We all want clear, healthy skin and when a system is working, we tend to cling to it, regardless of changes in our skin or the environment. Perhaps you have investigated new ingredients or tried a new eye cream or two, but the basics are stale. Well snap out of it! A change in the seasons is a perfect time to re-evaluate and re-vamp your beauty routine to be the best yet!
For many of us, there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day, which often means mornings are particularly rushed and frantic. We jump out of bed, rush to the shower, slap on some moisturizer and go. But did you know that there is one quick and easy step which will not only help your makeup look (and stay) fresh all day, but will also help prevent over-application of foundation? Well there is—make-up primer. Applied before foundation (but after moisturizer), make-up primer should become a beauty routine for a few reasons. First, it’s quick. Most primers are light-weight crèmes or gels that absorb quickly and leave the skin feeling silky smooth. Second, many of them are packed with beneficial ingredients such as vitamins and anti-oxidants, further protecting the skin from environmental damage and third: primers extend the wear-ability of almost every type of foundation. Sometimes called ‘invisible make-up’, Philosophy The Present Skin Perfector will smooth small imperfections on the surface of the skin, ensuring that foundation looks flawless and lasts all day.
When it comes to treating blemishes, many of us repeatedly use spot creams or drying potions throughout the day, in the hopes that the blemish will disappear more quickly if we blitz it with treatment. And although it has been said that ‘too much of a good thing can be wonderful’, in this case, too much of a good thing is merely too much! Blemish treatments contain ingredients such as salicylic or glycolic acid, benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, or hydrogen peroxide that can over-dry the skin if used in excess. Resist the temptation to use these products more than two times per day. Instead, try a two-pronged attack against blemishes. For particularly aggressive blemishes, go ahead and use the spot cream during the day, and at night—try dotting a clay mask on the blemish and leaving it on overnight. The mask will work to purify the skin as you sleep, sparing you the aggravation of dry, flaky skin. Good bets? Murad Clarifying Masque or Peter Thomas Roth Sulfur Cooling Masque.
Another beauty routine than can be revisited is in the shower—your hair care! To stand under a warm spray of water and lather up with a rich shampoo is surely one of life’s simplest pleasures, but did you know that this routine can also be streamlined? Overuse of shampoo and conditioner is a universal beauty faux-pas that most of us are guilty of committing at some point. As with skincare, less equals more with shampoo. For an extra-bubbly, time-saver wash, follow these simple steps. Saturate the hair thoroughly with water and then evenly distribute a dime-sized amount of shampoo between your palms before massaging into the hair. Not only will you use less shampoo, using smaller amounts of shampoo will help alleviate product build-up in the hair. A great choice for all hair types, Bliss Lemon + Sage Supershine Shampoo keeps hair smooth and shiny with lemon, sage, wheat protein and panthenol.
Conditioner is another beauty product that is often overused. Ideally, conditioner smoothes the cuticle and prevents tangles; however, many people use too-heavy a hand with conditioner, slathering a thick coating over the whole head…only to then wonder why their hair is weighed-down and limp. Conditioner works best when applied to the lower portions of the hair: from mid-crown (around the ears) down to the ends. The ends often exhibit the worst damage, such as split ends, breakage, or frizziness which is chiefly the result of heat damage from blow dryers and irons. Once you have applied conditioner, use a large-toothed comb to gently distribute the conditioner throughout the rest of the hair from roots to tips; try L’Occitane Damaged Hair Conditioner. By using a comb to distribute the conditioner from the crown and roots, you will use less conditioner and prevent a buildup of product near the roots, which can leave the hair lifeless and drooping.
As part of a balanced beauty routine, most of us also pluck a little here or there, every so often or in-between our scheduled brow wax. Just remember, don’t go too wild with your tweezers, especially up close. When you pluck your eyebrows while snuggled up to the magnifying mirror, you may end up focusing on individual hairs, rather than your entire eyebrow which could leave you with gaps or thinness. To achieve an ideal brow-shape and make sure the shape is complimenting your face, pluck no more than three hairs before stepping back from the mirror to view the entire result. It may seem fun to get rid of stray hairs, but once over-plucked, brows can take awhile to grow back so be prudent; less plucking is more!
A final routine refinement: once you are ready for your favorite fragrance, avoid spraying it on clothing. Fragrance molecules are complex and sophisticated and, they need to interact with the heat of the skin to release their full potential. Spraying clothing may seem like a nice way to incorporate scent into your outfit, but in reality, you are wasting your perfume and may even damage your clothes: perfumes can stain! Keep perfume application confined to pulse points: wrists, base of throat, behind the earlobes or even behind the knees for the best results.
Who says beauty has to stay the same? Evolve your beauty regimen this season and be rewarded with shiny hair, happy skin and possibly a few extra bucks in your wallet!!